Monster Hunter World, Tales from Astera
by Silver Scylla
Summary: Elain is a high ranked loner in the monster hunter world, and she doesnt take too kindly to Bishop the low rank monster hunter, and his friends Rogal and Levin, who manage to put her back against the wall to take them on high rank missions. However, through their journies is it possible she will warm up to them?
1. Welcome to Astera

**So, its been a while. If you are one of my old readers im sorry, this isnt 39 clues. But, if i do still have some of my old loyal readers, if you want me to start writing those again send me a PM or leave a review on one of my stories. In the mean time, i hope anyone here for some monster hunter stories enjoys. All of these characters are based off of my closest friends and my lovely boyfriend who introduced me to the game. Enjoy!**

* * *

Grappling her way to the top of the largest tree in the Ancient Forest, Elaine groaned.

"This had better be worth my time," she said to herself. Her Palico, PAC, climbed beside her. Pac's purple and black fur was shiny from a monster's blood and viscera that Elaine had taken down only a half hour earlier. Elaine promised her she'd get her cleaned as soon as possible, but that was before Elaine was told about the Pukei Pukei in the area.

"Just one more of those fucker's bones and I can get my hammer upgraded," she said with determination.

She had been working towards getting this particular upgrade for almost a month. Finally, she reached a good height in the tree to see where the infernal aerial enemy was. Scanning the area, she caught a glimpse of it flying below. It was just gliding around lazily, like it hadn't a worry in the world. That is, until a certain high rank monster hunter brings her hammer down on its skull from 10 stories up. Taking a few steps back, she drew her hammer and took off at full sprint and leaped. Right on target.

She swung her arms forward, hammer in hand, as hard as she could manage. This caused her to begin spinning, faster and faster, until the blunt end of her hammer hit the spine of the Pukei Pukei. It roared and spat poison as they both went down together. She stood on its back and shot her grappling hook around its feet in case she fell off. Then she began to wail on the beast with her weapon, trying to bring it down. It snapped and snarled at her as she did so until it decided to fly through branches of the great tree. Elaine could dodge them for the most part, but was caught off guard as the monster flipped upside down and she fell, hitting a branch. The two became entangled as the Pukei Pukei tried to free itself from the grapple and as Elaine fought to get back on top. The Pukei Pukei pulled hard enough to unlatch the grapple hook from Elaine's wrist right as Elaine finally got on top of the branch they were stuck to. The force of the action caused the tree to shake and Elaine flailed wildly to get a holding. Her foot flew upwards and her grappling hook latched shut around it. Elaine, not noticing, got back up just as the monster took another big pull, flying off. Elaine had no time to react as she followed the line of her grappling hook to her ankle. Suddenly she was jerked off of her feet and flung into the air by the leg of the Pukei Pukei, hitting her head on the way down. She groaned and tried to grab the grapple to open it, but it was snapped shut.

* * *

Bishop hopped off the ship, his Palico Bitsy beside him. He took a deep breath. "Fresh air, that's what that is, Bitsy. New world, new start, new monsters, and new friends! Can you believe that we might get to hunt alongside some of the most skilled hunters in their craft? What could we learn from them? I can't wait to make friends and form a hunting party and learn the strategies these talented people...is that a person hanging upside down from that Pukei Pukei?"

Bishop watched as a woman dangled freely from her ankle, flailing and yelling out some very colorful choice words.

"Hmph. That is an...interesting tactic! Freeing up both of your hands to do more damage perhaps? Let's go watch!" Bishop said excitedly as he took off after them.

* * *

"I SWEAR TO ALL THAT IS HOLY! IF I DIE BY A BIRD WHOSE NAME SOUNDS LIKE PUKE, I AM GONNA COME BACK AND HAUNT EVERYONE ON THIS ISLAND!" Elaine shrieked, trying to free herself once more. She really didn't want to have to do this, but this damn reptile was leaving her no choice! Sighing, she drew her skinning knife and cut the line, falling into the brush. Landing with a thud, she groaned and looked up into a pair of big, curious hazel brown eyes. This guy was probably only a little older than she was, with short strawberry blonde hair and light caramel skin.

"The fuck are you looking at?" She snapped, sitting up and rubbing her head.

"Oh! Hi, I'm Bishop. I saw you over head and just had to learn what strategy that was?"

"It's called none of your business," she threw back at him, picking dirt and foliage from her hair, "Hey, you got a grappling hook?"

"Well yeah why- hey!" Bishop exclaimed as Elaine swiftly grabbed it from him and dashed away.

"I'll bring it back!" she called over her shoulder as she ran after the Pukei Pukei.

Bishop took off after her, hot on her heels. Not only because she had his grappling hook, but because he wanted to see where this went. She was fast, which was impressive since her hammer was very large and likely weighed a ton. Agile as a Congalala, she clambered up a tree to get to a higher vantage point. Bishop was finding it difficult to keep up, but he stuck to his tracking training and managed.

"Why are you following me? I said I'd bring it back."

"Because I want to see what happens! This is cool!"

Elaine rolled her eyes. She worked better alone, so she didn't want to deal with the responsibility of keeping this guy alive. She could tell by his gear he was a low rank hunter, and shouldn't be within 100 feet of a Pukei Pukei, let alone following one. Well, if he dies she can keep the hook at least.

Bishop was still behind her, now admiring her gear. Was that Odogaron armor? And her Palico was wearing the same. Those things were ferocious. Fast and dangerous, he'd seen one once when he was a kid. The monster hunters in his village had to band together to finally down the beast. Yet, Bishop had the feeling this girl was a bit of a loner which means she had to have killed quite a few of them, by herself. She must be a high rank hunter! Man, if he could convince her to take him on higher level missions he'd be that rank in no time! Right now he was just a low rank, but he was pretty high up there. He may be a nice guy, but when he was in hunter mode he was lethal. He recalled his friends Rogal and Levin back in Astera.

The three of them had grown up together and were currently the top three low level hunters. They just needed to make an impression, kill something big, but they didn't have access to high level missions. If he could tell them he convinced this girl to take them, then he'd get a good few drinks from them at least. He was determined now. He had to get this girl to join up with them! Speaking of the girl...where did she go? Bishop had spent so much time getting excited he lost track of her.

He climbed a tree and gazed around. That's when he saw her, hanging onto the Pukei Pukei's tail! From a distance, he observed the battle.

* * *

Elaine climbed up the spiney back of her prey, making her way to the head. She got to the nape of its neck and it tried to buck her off, bad move. It launched her in the air and she came down right on the nape with her knife. She let out an almost ungodly war cry and began to impale the monster with her knife over and over. They crashed into the ground, tossing her off of the monster, but she rolled and landed on her feet. The great bird started to limp away, but she wasn't having it. She took off after it, drawing her hammer again.

"Nothing personal, but I. Really. NEED. YOUR. BONES!" She got up to speed and jumped, hammer over head, and mashed it into the Pukei Pukei's head, crushing it. The monster twitched a few times before finally dying. Panting, Elaine grinned down at her prey. Finally. FINALLY she would upgrade her hammer to the Blooming Hammer III. It wouldn't match her armor set, but the stats fit her much better than that of the Odogaron.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Bishop yelled as he ran up to them. "You were all _AAARRRRGGGG_ and _RRRRRAAAAAA_ then you were all _HYAH, TAKE THAT_ and it was all then _BOOM_ and _CRASH_ and _SCWAAAAHHHH_ and ahh that was so friggin' cool! You're amazing!"

Elaine shoved the grapple into his hands, hitting him in the chest, "Glad you got your entertainment, now get the fuck back to Astera before you get eaten by a Great Girros or something."

"Ha, that's funny! Cause Girros are total pushovers. Hey, so you're high rank, right?"

"Why?"

"Well, you see, my friends and I are trying to get promoted and we happen to be-"

She turned and put her hand over his mouth, "No." Then she turned around and kept collecting the pieces she needed and other from the monster, so she could sell any surplus material.

"-the top three low rank hunters," Bishop instantly continued the moment her hand left his mouth, "So if you could take us on high rank missions, we could get promoted!"

"I said no, are you deaf?"

"Nope, just persistent. Come on, please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"With-"

"NO. Now fuck off, dude."

Bishop sighed and tried to put on his grappling hook. Then he grinned wickedly.

"Well then, repay me for breaking my equipment."

"What? It isn't-" She started turning her had to see, and sure enough, the clasp was broken. She groaned and reached for her zenny bag, but Bishop held up his hand in a stop gesture.

"Nope. I don't want money."

Elaine glared. This guy was going to say he wanted her to take them on missions to repay him, wasn't he?

"Let me guess, I take you on a few high rank missions and we're square?"

"Yep! Me and my friends."

She looked him in the eyes, trying to stare him down, but he looked right back with the dumbest, cockiest grin on his face. She was trapped.

"If any of you die, I'm not responsible and I'm looting your corpses." She said monotone, walking past him.

With a leap and a fist pump, Bishop celebrated his minor victory, "Yes! I can't wait to tell the guys!"

This was going to be the longest few missions of her life, Elaine could already tell. The two walked back to Astera, Bishop talking the whole way and Elaine rubbing her temples from the forming headache. There goes the excitement over her victory.


	2. Field Day

**Here's another chapter, lightning fast! I miss writing.**

"So I personally enjoy the Long Sword over the Hammer, but you use it really well. I prefer the speed and reach over strength, but Levin uses the-"

"Shut. UP! Oh my god, do you have an off switch? Can I use it please?"

"Sorry, I'm just excited. Oh! What's your name?"

"If I tell you, will you promise to shut up at least until we get to Astera?"

"Yes." Bishop said, smiling.

"I'm Elaine Abernathy. I'm a high rank as you've learned. There. Now for the quiet game." She said, sighing in relief for the silence.

As they got into town, Bishop looked around for his friends. That's when he saw them, waving as they ran over.

"Bishop, hello! Who is your new lady friend?" Rogal exclaimed. Rogal was a large man with a friendly smile. He wore his Radobaan armor, as did his Palico, Giles.

"Oh this is-"

"Not his friend." Elaine said, her face deadpan.

"Oh, I see, so she's your _girrrrlllllfriend_!" interjected Levin. The lankier of the pair, his rusty brown hair and charming smile was over shadowed by his fun loving personality. He wore Tzitzi Ya Ku armor and of course as did his Palico, Joji.

"Not that either. I'm going to the canteen, meet me when you're ready to put on your big boy pants and go on a real mission." Elaine snapped and walked off.

Bishop looked at Levin and Rogal. His two best friends in the world, and he couldn't imagine it any other way. They all purposefully trained themselves with different weapons so it would compliment each other in battle. Bishop had the Long Sword, for reach and power. Levin was the Hunting Horn, for support and morale, and Rogal's was the Switch Blade, for damage and versatility.

"Hey, what's she mean by that?" Levin asked, bonking Bishop on the head.

"Oh! So, that's Elaine. She's a high rank hunter, and I met her kind of by chance. Which is why I didn't wait up for you guys when we got off the ship. Anyways, she stole my grappling hook to take down a Pukei Pukei and managed to break it!"

"Well that doesn't sound like something to be excited about, but go on." Rogal threw in his two cents.

"No! You don't get it! She owes me for it, so instead of taking money, I talked her into letting us tag along on some high rank missions! We'll be high rank hunters in no time! And she uses a hammer, brute strength and all, so its a perfect fit for our group!"

"Wait, really?! Dude, sweet! Come on, let's go! We'll get you a grappling hook and start a real mission!" Levin said.

The three all ran to the Smithy, and there stood Elaine, getting her own grappling hook and no doubt upgrading her hammer. "You were supposed to meet me at the canteen. What took you so long?"

"Sorry, hehe, catching up. We had to get my grapple fixed." Bishop said, setting his broken tool on the work bench. As the workers began to fix his gear, Bishop introduced everyone. The grapples were fixed first, then came Elaine's hammer. Bishop chuckled to himself as the tough girl who he was already used to turned into the girliest person alive, hungering for her new hammer.

"Blooming Hammer III! It's even prettier now that it's mine! Aaaah it looks so cool I can't wait to use this finally!" She turned and froze, remembering that she now had an audience. "WHAT ARE YOU ASSHOLES LOOKING AT!? GO GET READY FOR THIS MISSION, IT'S GOING TO BE HARDER THAN ANYTHING YOU'VE FACED SO FAR AND I'M NOT SPENDING THE WHOLE MISSION BABY SITTING YOU JERKS!" Her face was bright red as she hugged her hammer to her chest.

Bishop laughed and nodded. She actually was kinda cute. She was quite a bit shorter than him, and was obviously younger, even though she tried to act all mature. In fact..she was probably not even 20 yet. She had short brown hair, just barely below her shoulders, and big brown eyes. She wore glasses and had a pretty healthy body type. He shook it off. Nah, he preferred sweet innocent kinds of girls. When he's afraid they'll gut him, he can't really be that attracted.

Bishop, Levin, and Rogal all followed her to the mission board to choose a job. It was so cool seeing all the awesome missions they could choose from. Immediately, Bishop saw a really cool looking job and was about to voice up about it when Elaine grabbed a paper off the wall and handed it to the Handler, who assigned them to the job.

They all crowded around to see what they'd be fighting.

"An Odogaron!?" Bishop exclaimed.

"Mhm. Two of them. As you can see by what I'm wearing, I happen to be very good at fighting these little pests. This should be a good starter for you guys so I can see how you fight and I can finish it myself if it's too hard for you low rank peons."

Levin scoffed indignantly "Hey! We're the top three-"

"I don't care. You're low rank, which doesn't impress me. Do good in this fight, and I might let you join me in a bigger one."

"Who are you that you can call a fight with two Odogarons a good starter?" Rogal crossed his arms as he towered over them all.

"Wait a second..." Levin stopped everything, snapping his fingers as he began to recollect, "Hey! That's Huntress Abernathy, right? I saw a news report about her. She's like...the seventh best high rank hunter! The news said she doesn't take any breaks and doesn't work with anyone. She's going for a G rank! Not only that, she wants to be the number one. Top of the top! And if she succeeds, she'd be the first girl to do it! I think the paper said something about her trying to kill an Elder dragon that destroyed her childhood home and killed her-"

"Shut up! Dear god, are all of you this chatty? Just get your weapons and follow me already!" She turned and walked towards the gate leading out of Astera, towards their targets.

The boys followed behind, chatting among themselves. The journey didn't take too long, and soon the party had arrived at the Rotten Vale. Mostly a sight for sore eyes, the low rank trio thought differently. Despite the musk that smelled like death incarnate, they were awed by the bony wilderness. They quickly followed after Elaine, who was headed straight for her usual hunting spot. Quickly, the group observed the two Odogarons lurking about. They were sizing each other up, obviously in the middle of a turf war. They snapped and snarled at each other viciously. Elaine looked at the boys, ushering them forward, "Well? Impress me. Don't worry, if it gets too overwhelming I'll step in. Go on now."

Bishop nodded before he was suddenly pulled into a huddle with his friends. Helmets inches from each other, they began to form a plan.

Rogal spoke first, "Two targets. Three hunters. Levin is support as usual, so one on one is our best bet."

"We haven't hunted these yet. We're going in with no advantage," Levin scratched his head, uncertain, "Should we separate them and take 'em out one at a time?"

Bishop shook his head, "Hunting isn't our only objective here. We have to show her what we got so she'll take us on more missions. I say we go with Rogal's plan."

Levin paused momentarily, the letting the idea settle in his mind before finally sighing and nodding, "Alright. If you're in a pinch though, just call for me."

"Awesome! I'll go get their undivided attention. Let's go kick some monster tail," Bishop said, holding out a fist. The rest bumped together, ending their meeting and starting the action.

Elaine stood leaning, watching the boys in their little group. She tapped her foot impatiently until finally they finished. Bishop left the hiding spot while Levin and Rogal went a completely different direction. What were they doing? Moving for a better view, she had eyes on Bishop, who was casually strolling up to the monsters. Suddenly, he whipped out a fresh ration. Waving a turkey leg out in the open, he took a ravenous bite, chewing loudly and obnoxiously.

"Oh! Oh god yes!" he groaned out of exaggerated pleasure, "I'm telling ya, this food doesn't just look good."

Having only taken a few bites, he nonchalantly tossed the food behind his back, not stopping his approach. The beasts looked at each other, almost as if asking one another if they knew what was going on.

"Now now, I know what you guys are thinking. What's this guy got that we need?" he continued to taunt them.

Ignoring each other for the time being, the Odogarons both turned to Bishop, teeth bared and drooling buckets onto the ground. They stalked closer and closer to the hunter, slowly closing the distance between them. Bishop still pressed on, showing no concern for his own well being! Elaine, despite her earlier proclamation, was starting to feel anxious as they approached one another. Was she going to keep her promise and step in or let this be a lesson to the young hunter?

"-but back to my point. I have a pitch for you, and I am one hundred percent certain..." he paused, now only feet from the maws of the slobbering monsters.

"... _that it's gonna be a huge hit."_

Dirt was flung into the air as the plan was put into action. Simultaneously, Levin and Rogal flanked the monsters on the outside, keeping out of sight while Bishop kept their attention. When they were close enough, the duo leaped out from their hiding spots and brought down their weapons on the unprepared monsters. Levin crushed his Odogaron with his pipes, right on the base of its skull. Its head slammed against the ground, dazing it. Rogal left a deep gash along the side of his target's face with his switch blade in axe form, infuriating it as it lashed out at him. Bishop took his chance and unsheathed his long sword as he ran at the dazed Odogaron. His blade slashed at the creature as it kicked out, trying to upright itself. The beast roared as Bishop attacked it. Meanwhile, Rogal was going berserk on his.

After a few minutes of this, the two switched opponents, and the sudden shift threw the Odogarons for a loop. Levin healed a wound on Rogal as Bishop killed his Odogaron. Seconds later, Rogal swung out his switch axe and cut the beasts head off. The fight was over almost as fast as it started. But it wasn't over yet. Another Odogaron had snuck up on the celebrating trio and immediately attacked. With lightning fast swipes, the group was caught unawares.

Elaine rushed in, bringing her hammer down on the ground between the boys and the beast. She turned towards her prey and the boys all looked at her in awe as she got the Odogaron's unbridled attention. She walked towards it at almost a saunter and Bishop wondered what she was going to do. She didn't have the element of surprise like they did. Was she just going to walk up and attack it? Shouldn't she be running?

Elaine held out her hammer and the monster's eyes tracked it. She then dropped the weapon, and the beasts eyes followed. In that same instant, she leaped forward and brought her hands together at lightning speed, making a very loud, echo inducing clap. The Odogaron stood, stunned, and Elain leaped forward bringing her knife to its jugular and slitting its throat. The Odogaron fell, dead, and Bishop, Levin, and Rogal all stared at the huntress with a mix of respect and fear. Were they lucky to be teamed up with someone with that kind of skill? No, were they _worthy_ of it? Probably not. But they weren't looking a gift horse in the mouth on this one.


End file.
